Blog Archives
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I first met Norman Y. Mineta …
- Thursday July 13, 2006… back in 1985. I was the media guy for the National Air Transportation Association. Then-U.S. Representative Mineta was midway into a 20-year career representing the district around San Jose, CA, which subsequently named its international airport for him. Mineta was the key draw for NATA’s annual convention that year. Upon first meeting Mineta – and in subsequent meetings – one is first struck by his demeanor. He’s calm; measured; a gentleman. Such traits perhaps account for much of his success in forming coalitions, getting legislation passed, and advancing the cause of aviation. For the latter he is much credited. While talking this week with Eric Byer, VP of government affairs for NATA, he summed... -
Road Rage Explained
- Tuesday July 11, 2006Not all days were like yesterday, but yesterday was not atypical. I spoke at lunch in Reno—great group of people. Afterwards, I dashed to the airport with just enough time to check in and make the flight to Vegas where I grabbed a fast-food sandwich and milk to go. That was the modern-day version of inflight dining. The flight to Chicago was pleasant enough, even if I did sit next to an otherwise pleasant high school teacher who explained to me that my idol, economist Adam Smith, had just tried to apply Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution to the world of economics. That was rather startling to me since Darwin was born more than a quarter century after Adam Smith wrote his great book, The Wealth of Nations. I managed to... -
We MUST Act Professional
- Thursday July 6, 2006First of all, I want to thank all those who responded to last week's blog The News Still Looks Bad for Maintenance. We had plenty of reader comments that contributed to the discussion on the recent BTS report on airline employment and what it means for airline mechanics. Sadly, not all the comments were able to be posted. In fact, some of them were so crude and obscene, they would make George Carlin blush. The comments were childish and very un-professional. I understand the fact that airline mechanics have had it bad the last several years. I have talked to many airline mechanics during my time here at AMT. In fact, I got a chance to talk to quite a few Northwest mechanics in the first days of the strike last year. As could be... -
Airbus Revisited
- Tuesday July 4, 2006News out of Europe this week is that co-chief executive Noel Forgeard of EADS, parent of Airbus, and Gustav Humbert, CEO of the aircraft manufacturer, are being pushed out – more fallout from the recent news of delivery delays for the double-decker airliner, the A380. And, as reported in The Wall Street Journal (July 3), Foregeard and other EADS executives are under scrutiny for sales of the company’s stock in March, just prior to announcements in A380 delays.  During an interview this week with Steve Van Beek, executive vice president of policy for Airports Council International-North America (for an upcoming August feature in AIRPORT BUSINESS), the discussion turned to the A380 and the investments airports have either... -
I Deducted Breakfast This Morning
- Monday July 3, 2006I am a charter and founding member (whatever that means) of the Greater Northern Alabama Lying Pilots Coffee Drinking and Hangar Talking Society. Members who are in town meet weekday mornings at Mullins Restaurant in Huntsville, AL, where the special each morning is two sausage biscuits for one dollar! That’s all we do, by the way. We eat breakfast and talk. We get a small but interesting crowd. At one time or another we get a FedEx pilot, a USAirways pilot, two retired rocket engineers, one surgeon pilot, and a high-tech aerial photographer (he has taken pictures from the Panama Canal to Minnesota). And this morning Matt Rainey showed up. We hadn’t seen much of Matt lately. He has been busy. Matt, an engineer, has been the... -
The News Still Looks Bad For Maintenance
- Thursday June 29, 2006So, the industry is in an upswing. Passenger levels are up. Revenue is up. Many airlines are predicting a profit for this quarter. So why is employment information so dismal? The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported last week that for the 16th consecutive month, employment at the airlines was down from the same time last year. For April, employment was down 4.8 percent compared to April 2005. You can go to www.bts.gov to read the full report. 16 months. That's a long time for consecutive employment reductions. What's even worse is that the numbers are now tracking against last year’s months that were down to begin with. Come to think of it, at the rate the airlines are going, they will eventually stop the employee... -
Outsourcing Pilots
- Tuesday June 27, 2006I have on my computer a blistering e-mail attacking ALPA, the union of many airline pilots. This diatribe cometh not from hardhearted management or flaming free-market entrepreneurial types, but from airline pilots. You may well know that the International Civil Aeronautics Association (ICAO) is reported to be in the final stages of changing the so called Age 60 Rule so that airline pilots elsewhere can fly to age 65 rather than age 60. The ruling has no legal force in the U.S., however. At least not for U.S. pilots employed by U.S. companies. It’s not quite that simple, of course, but basically, foreign airlines flying to, from, and over the U.S. will be able to use pilots over age 60. U.S. airlines will not. The U.S. guvmint has... -
Questions at Airbus
- Friday June 23, 2006News of late from Airbus has been nothing short of startling, centered around the manufacturer's announcement that it will be delaying deliveries of the much-anticipated A380 airliner. Singapore Airlines, the launch customer, reacted by ordering 20 787 'Dreamliners' from Boeing. Recent articles in The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times highlight the OEM's plight … - "Canceling the A380 altogether should be an option on the table." (TWSJ, June 20, Richard Aboulafia, Teal Group) - "Last week’s shock warning that A380 deliveries would be delayed by six to seven months because of production problems has plunged Airbus and EADS, its parent company, into crisis." (F.T., June 21) Also following the announcement, leasing... -
Analogies Tend to Grow on You
- Thursday June 22, 2006Analogies tend to grow on you. Kind of like E. coli tends to grow on room-temperature beef. Here at AMT we have been busier than a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest lately. This week, I decided to have a little fun with my blog and share some of my favorite analogies. Here are a few that come to mind: "The sardines were packed as tight as the coach section of a 747." How's that for a backwards analogy? Sadly, I guess you could use that for just about any airline these days. From Ralph Hood's Airport Business blog "Ground Clutter" last week: "When people worry, the guvmint gets involved faster'n an episode of Desperate Housewives can get around to sex. From a mechanic in Birmingham, AL (posted on AMTonline.com forum). "Pilots... -
DayJet Starts Flying This Year
- Monday June 19, 2006DayJet plans to revolutionize charter with 239 Eclipse jets that it already has on order. Somebody has been revolutionizing charter since the Wright Brothers first charged for a sightseeing ride, but I’m still a sucker for a new idea. DayJet is another of those aviation companies formed by smart business people with past successes in other industries. I'd laugh, but I remember laughing at FedEx, so I restrain myself. DayJet has several new—or almost new—ideas. First, the company spent much time and money on a unique computer program that will supposedly work miracles. I don’t understand that program, so will not discuss it.  Second, DayJet has those 239 Eclipse VLJs on order, and VLJs have been...
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